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This is something different that I pray will bless you. Often I like to take a division of the psalms and personalize it. I have found great peace and joy in this process. Replacing the personal pronouns with my own name and speaking the “revised” psalm out loud. God’s amazing character is throughout the Bible and particularly in these psalms of praise and adoration from various writers.

Verse 2…The LORD builds up Jerusalem…God alone can establish us. The righteous are sustained by his Great name and no other. There is no need to seek sustenance in any other. When we make God our all in all, He lavishes his faithfulness upon us. “The Lord builds up [your name]”….He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. God is the only one that can take what has been scattered and confused and put it back together again. In life, we may have crises that confuse us and cause us to feel like outcasts. God is able to fix our broken pieces. Like Joseph said in Genesis, “you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (see Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28-29)

Verse 3… He heals the brokenhearted…The implication here is that only God can fix us when we are broken. We have to be to a point of total reliance and dependence on what He can do. He bestows his grace [his ability to perform in us what we are not ourselves capable of doing]…and binds up their wounds…Open wounds are very hard to heal and take longer to heal. God as the master physician knows how to correctly heal our wounds. His method and medication for us is the best for our situation. Just like the Samaritan that took care of his neighbor God binds up the wounds of our suffering. “He heals [your name] broken heart and binds up [your name]’s wounds.”

Verse 5… Great is our Lord…Acknowledgement of God’s greatness shifts our perspective to know just how small our problems can be when compared to Him. Magnification of his greatness is an automatic minimization of our situation… and mighty in power …God’s power is immeasurable. This phrase is best read connected to the previous to denote just how great He is. Great is our Lord and mighty in power! Not only is He great in who He is alone, but He is great in how He goes about doing things [in deed]…his understanding is infinite…Another immeasurable attribute of our God is his understanding. All the problems in our world or any other are finite. His knowledge provides answers to every situation that life can throw at us. “Great is [your name]’s Lord…”

Verse 6… The LORD lifts up the humble…God is our vindicator. As those that would accuse us [Satan] come to the throne to testify against us God stands in to defend those that [are humble and] rely on Him. As James says in 4:6 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble”. Let’s be humbled before him so that we can be exalted in due time…He casts the wicked down to the ground…God can also take the role of judge to those that exalt themselves above his laws and judgments.

Verse 13… For He has strengthened the bars of your gates…God alone can provide us with the courage to overcome the problems we face. As different enemies fall upon us to attack and penetrate our walls of defense, God steps in and reinforces our defense systems by strengthening us with his Word…He has blessed your children within you…God sovereignly and mercifully blesses those around us when we are blessed. His blessings always have an overflow effect. (see Job 22:29-30) “For He has strengthened the bars of [your name]’s gates, He has blessed [your name]’s children…”

Verse 14… He makes peace in your borders…God is the God of peace. Proverbs 16:7 says that when a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him…and fills you with the finest wheat…God puts us at peace and comfort. He knows us inside and out and what our fears and anxieties can be. He alone can comfort us and fill us with his love. “He makes peace in [your name]’s borders and fills [your name] with the finest wheat. AMEN

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

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